FIRST they had a lion stalking through long grass when they wanted a PR chief with the hunter-killer instincts of the king of the jungle.

Then they had panoramic skyline with the city's three spires and the defiant question: "What's so bad about being sent to Coventry?"

Now Coventry Council is resorting to another eye-catching advert in a national newspaper - featuring naked bottoms - which brought a rush of job applicants.

The full colour advert in The Guardian shows naked people holding hands and leaping up and down looking out to sea.

The advert, the only colour one in the jobs section, is for five posts which the council has found difficulty in recruiting because of a national shortage.

They need two senior health development officers, salary between #22,341 and #27,717, two community nutritionists, salary between #17,823 and #21,078, and one health development officer in women's sexual health, salary between #17,823 and #22,971.

The advert states: "Join our friendly, relaxed team and you'll benefit from plenty of training and support, you'll have the opportunity to work with a number of agencies and you'll be encouraged to contribute your ideas about how the service should be run."

Cllr Ken Taylor (Earlsdon), deputy Conservative leader, said: "Coventry Council appears to have lost control of its senses. Not only is this a very expensive ad in colour but I feel it's pushing into the realms of indecency.

"It's definitely not the image Coventry Council wishes to promote."

Birmingham company GWT Advertising was brought in to do the recruitment advert, which cost #9,300, and attracted more than 30 responses on the first day of appearing.

More traditional ads for the health development worker and senior health development officers last autumn attracted only a handful of applicants, none of whom was appointed.

Council cabinet member, Cllr Phil Townshend (Lab, Lower Stoke), said: "We've deliberately chosen the image because it's eye-catching and is a portrayal of health and well-being.

"We would not wish to offend anyone by producing an advert of this nature but we wanted to raise the profile of this specialist area of recruitment."